


infinite loop

by cresselia



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, This is pretty Amy-centric though, also minor Teddy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-26
Updated: 2014-03-26
Packaged: 2018-01-17 02:25:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1370449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cresselia/pseuds/cresselia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He walks away before she can even say anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	infinite loop

He walks away before she can even say anything.

 

Not that she even knows what she would say in response to that. It wasn't a declaration of love. It wasn't undying devotion or a confession of passion. It wasn't anything that fits into the Jake Peralta portion of her understanding. Jake does things in extremes. He makes big deals out of little things and causes spectacle.

 

He doesn't stand with her in the parking lot and quietly tell her that he's sorry to inconvenience her but there's a possibility he might never see her again if everything ends up horribly so he wants to tell her he has feelings for her and, again, really sorry about how uncomfortable this might make her.

 

She stands in the parking lot for ten minutes after he walks away, just staring at the ground that had previously been occupied by him. His words run through her head until her phone alerts her about a text message from Teddy. They have dinner plans.

 

As her thumbs brush over the screen of her phone in reply, she thinks of dancing with Jake at the competition with Holt and sitting with him on a rooftop, shoveling snacks into her mouth. She thinks of recommendation letters and a ninety nine cent ring that sits tucked away in her jewelry box because something about it told her that she should go find it the day after the date.

 

What she doesn't do is cancel the date with Teddy, her boyfriend. Jake's confession makes her head spin, but she doesn't know where they stand. He's leaving for six months, and Teddy is here. Teddy has been here. And, well, she can already tell that even trying to decipher whether or not she returns Jake's feelings is going to be a long and arduous process.

 

It's not something she can do tonight. Tonight, she needs routine and comfort because the past couple of days have been a whirlwind, and even if she told him that she was only jealous of his assignment, the thought of not seeing him for so long left her with an uncomfortable, unfamiliar feeling in her chest.

 

When Teddy drops her off after dinner, she doesn't invite him up even though she knows he's waiting for it. Maybe another night, but not right now. She kisses his cheek and exits the car in a kind of daze that's been clouding her thoughts all night. It carries her through the door and up her stairs.

 

There's a box in front of her apartment door with no note or card. It's probably not in her best interest to bring it into her apartment and open it, but her judgment might be a little off tonight. She drops it on her kitchen counter and tugs the ribbon off, pulling the top of the box up.

 

Inside is a teddybear with a hole in the back for a nannycam. There is none, of course, but she recognizes it from a case she and Jake worked at the beginning of the year. It looks exactly the same as it did months ago, and she doesn't need a note to tell who it's from anymore. She half expects to hear Jake's voice when she squeezes the paw.

 

“ _I ’m not sure I can come home. I’ve been undercover for so long, I’ve forgotten who I am. I have seen terrible things. I haven’t known the touch of a woman in many moons.”_

 

She hugs it tightly against her chest and buries her face in the fur of its head, mumbling, “Detective Peralta, don't walk away from me.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> sorry about the length


End file.
